There are a lot of ways to play
tourist. By plane, car, even tour bus. But, you really haven't seen a
country until you tour the land - the Land Rover way. Getting up close
and personal with a country's eco-system and really understanding the
terrain. Well recently we did just that in Argentina, where Land Rover
showed off their legendary off-road prowess in true South American
fashion.
Actually,
more like gasping for air, as we tackled Argentina's Road to the Clouds
for three days of high-altitude off-roading in the 2008 Land Rover LR3.
One thousand miles and what seems
like a few centuries removed from Buenos Aires, our journey began in
the small town of Cafayete, in the heart of the wine growing region of
northwestern Argentina. From there, we drove roughly north towards
Chile and the Andes mountains, following portions of the national Ruta
40 as well as some challenging sections of purely off-road trails.
Argentina's
Ruta 40 runs for 5,200 kilometers along the whole length of the country
and is one of the most remote and least traveled roads in the world.
Much like our own Route 66, it is Argentina's Mother Road, linking an
endless chain of forgotten villages and Pre-Inca ruins.
Ruta
40 passes through an amazing variety of terrain, from fertile grazing
land to desert, and through rocky gorges to the highest drivable
mountain pass in the Americas, the cold and very windy Paso Abra el
Acay, at an altitude of just over 5,000 meters - that's 16,000 feet to
you and me.
Our fleet of LR3s were
powered by 2.7 liter common rail high-pressure turbo-diesel V6s. This
is Land Rover's best-selling engine in many world markets, but
emissions regulations have so far kept it out of the U.S. Except at the
very highest altitudes, the diesel's 190 horsepower and 325 foot-pounds
of torque was more than enough to meet our needs and provided smooth,
quiet running in all situations.
To
tackle the rough stuff, Land Rover equips the LR3 with permanent
four-wheel drive with low range and a host of innovative technologies,
and thankfully equipped us with expert guides to talk us through the
tricky parts. In addition to the by-now-familiar Hill Descent Control,
the LR3 also sports a Terrain Response system with presets for ride
height, diff lock, throttle sensitivity, traction and stability
controls for five driver-selectable road conditions.
We
eventually made use of all five, but so good are the LR3's inherent
capabilities that we ventured miles into a sandy, muddy river bed
before knowing we should have switched out of the default "General"
mode at the start.
Cushy seats
alone won't give you a comfortable ride when the road ends, but after
three days of rough trails, we can say that nobody makes off-roading
more civilized than Land Rover. A long-travel suspension and
ultra-stiff body structure are the real secrets to LR's legendary
off-road comfort. They turned what would have been a dusty,
bone-rattling journey into a pleasant, but still dusty, country drive.
Despite
covering hundreds of off-road miles at a sometimes hair-raising pace,
we also found time to meet some of the locals and to appreciate the
region's unique culture: exchanging gifts at a local school, sipping
coffee in a town square, or stopping to barter with the "Llama Lady"
halfway to nowhere on a high mountain path.
Away
from the cities, life here is simple - poor only by our pampered
standards - but certainly lacking the hustle and bustle and many of the
trappings of so-called "modern" culture.
to say, our time in Argentina was all too brief, but long enough to
renew our admiration for this remarkable go-anywhere vehicle, and make
us wish we didn't have to leave that beautiful country behind. So
whether your next adventure takes you across the Andes or just across
town, the Land Rover LR3 is ready when you are.
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